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| Title | The Proposal | |
| Collection | Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead | |
| Artist | Bruyères, Hippolyte (French artist fl. 1833-1856) | |
| Date Earliest | probably about 1833 | |
| Date Latest | probably about 1856 | |
| Signed | yes | |
| Description | In the depths of a large barn, a young farm hand wearing large clogs, takes the hand of an innocent, barefooted, young girl. According to the title of the painting he is proposing, though exactly what is unclear. The cat licks from the pail of milk at her feet - everyday tasks have been forgotten in the romance of the moment, and indicate that whether marriage or sex, the answer will be yes. Paintings such as this recalled the believed simplicity of an earlier era, making them popular with collectors of the rising middle class, coping with the complex demands of an increasingly industrialised society. | |
| Current Accession Number | TWCMS:B4947 | |
| Former Accession Number | SAG 198 | |
| Inscription | front lr 'H. Bruyeres' | |
| Subject | interior; figure; everyday life; animal (chicken; cat) | |
| Measurements | 44.4 x 35.7 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on panel | |
| Acquisition Details | Bequeathed by J. A. D. Shipley, 1909. | |
| Publications | Catalogue of the Shipley Collection, 1917, no. 198 as H. Bruyerer; Catalogue of the Shipley Collection, 1921, no. 198 as H. Bruyerer; Catalogue of the Shipley Collection, 1951, no. 198 as H. Bruyerer. | |
| Rights Owner | The Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead (Tyne and Wear Museums) | |
| Author | Elizabeth van der Beugel | |